German insurance group Allianz has reached an agreement with utilities group E.On to purchase a 30% stake in E.On Distributie Romania, an electricity and gas distribution network operator in the northern part of Romania.

The deal’s value hasn’t been disclosed, but may be around EUR 270 million, according to market sources quoted by local mergers & acquisitions journal Mirsanu.ro. E.On Distributie Romania is one of the top 20 most valuable companies in Romania, according to an annual ranking made by Ziarul Financiar and investment bank BT Capital Partners. The company was valued at EUR 836 million in this year’s ranking, which makes the 30% stake some EUR 250 million.

E.On Distributie Romania had a turnover of EUR 361 million and a net profit of EUR 58.6 million in 2015.

E.On will continue to hold a majority stake of 56.5% in the company and the Romanian state will keep a 13.5% stake via the Energy Ministry. E.On bought an 18.3% stake in the company from Fondul Proprietatea for an undisclosed sum, in June this year.

E.On Distributie Romania owns and operates a gas distribution pipeline system of over 20,000 km as well as an electricity distribution grid of over 80,000 km serving about 3 million customers. It is a core infrastructure asset in Romania operating under a well-established regulatory framework.

“Romania is a promising European growth market. With this investment, we continue to substantially grow and further diversify our portfolio of high-quality infrastructure assets. It fits well with Allianz’s investment strategy as a long-term investor,” said Christian Fingerle, Chief Investment Officer responsible for infrastructure investments at Allianz Capital Partners.

Allianz also controls one of the top insurance companies in Romania, Allianz-Tiriac, a joint venture with Romanian billionaire Ion Tiriac.

E.On also owns an electricity and gas supply business in Romania. The group's total business in the country is over EUR 1.1 billion.

Romanian Fondul Proprietatea sells stakes in E.ON’s local subsidiaries for undisclosed sum

EBRD sells stake in local energy supplier E.ON Romania

editor@romania-insider.com